Tag Archives: radio on the real

We recently sat down in the studio to talk with a man called Schatzie. He’s a kick-ass, pure butcher by trade and the very definition of a New York character. Schatzie’s been slicing, carving and pleasing discerning palates for 50 years, and by die-hard carnivore standards, is akin to royalty. You see, Schatzie’s father was a butcher. And Schatzie’s father’s father was a meat master in the Old Country. So friends, this is a man who knows everything there is to know about prime meat. And having observed his customers from behind the butcher block for half a century, he also knows a thing or two about psychology. A self-declared old-school New York original, we had a blast rapping with Schatzie about everything from his days growing up on the Grand Concourse to butchering bear legs…the RIGHT way to cook a steak to his appreciation of broads…yeah, them…and don’t get him started on how so-called celebrity butcher “burger blends” are fulla crap …but have some damn genius marketing. Oh, and we also got schooled on the majesty of Sinatra b-sides and why they’re, hands down, the bomb. When Schatzie’s holding court, you definitely want to sit back and shut up. Don’t be a schmuck and miss this one! Press play below, or download on iTunes for free on the go.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.

Today we’d like to introduce you to a genuine New York City hero, Tim Brown. As a boy in middle school, Tim had big dreams of becoming a New York City fireman. And years later, he ending up not just achieving that goal but becoming a brother in some of the most elite firefighting companies in the world. For over 20 years, Tim has served the FDNY, Rescue 3, the NYC Office of Emergency Management, FEMA, and NY Task Force 1. But as Tim tells it, there is no training that could have mentally prepared him for the morning of September 11th, 2001. We all know what happened that day, but Tim’s story is one you have not heard. Almost unimaginably, Tim was at the base of Tower 2 at the moment it collapsed. And what happened to Tim in the days, weeks and years afterward makes for a moving story as big as the heart of the man telling it.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.

Waging war against cancer is, by most accounts, the battle of a lifetime and Holter Graham’s fight with leukemia is no exception. The difference here is that Holter himself is telling the story and anyone who knows Holter knows that this man can talk.

This is a cringe-inducing, laughter-invoking hour filled with brutally honest insight and a few gross-out moments from a warrior whose experiences range from growing up as a child actor in Baltimore, to sneaking into a late night movie with Emilio Estevez in rural North Carolina to having one painful push-up signal the beginning of the journey he’s on to this day. We caught Holter just a few days before he left for Houston to undergo a grueling bone marrow transplant in order to rid his body…once and for all…of the disease that has come very close to killing him on three separate occasions. If you’re going to listen to the story of anyone’s struggle with cancer, then this is one you shouldn’t miss. Holter Graham tells it just like it is, but in a way we think inspires and encourages to the core. If you want to dig deeper into Holter’s three-year struggle, check out his blog www.grahamkemia.blogspot.com.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.

We’re just over halfway through the week and it’s been a fun, inspiring and heartbreaking one for us here at ON THE REAL. In addition to publishing our RADIO ON THE REAL interview with the endlessly entertaining Jeff Lewonczyk, we’ve interviewed journalist and author Alison Stewart of early MTV/ Choose It or Lose It fame and labor union leader, actor and cancer fighter, Holter Graham. Both new chats will be posted in the next two weeks. But in the meantime, we felt it necessary to give a special and sincerely huge shout out to our ROTR Ninja portrait maker, Craig LaCourt.Here was the scene this afternoon at Casa McHale as Craig and his wife, Shami, set up the shoot for one of our latest subjects. This behind the scenes shot shows the care, dedication and respect that goes into each and every one of Craig’s mind-blowing photographs. His portraits provide unparalleled depth and a unique insight into the victims of our interviews…the insanely interesting characters that inhabit and enhance this metropolis which we call home. So here’s to you, Craig. You’ve managed to put your own badass stamp on a moment in time with some really amazing people who make New York City tick. These people influence, contribute, love and persevere. Just like you. So thank you for being here Señor LaCourt. We look forward to many, many more stories to come.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.

We sat down recently to chat with Austrian expat and culinary wunderkind, Eduard Frauneder. Edi is one of the world’s youngest Michelin Starred chefs and over the past few years has completely taken the Manhattan food scene by storm.

He and his partner Wolfgang Ban have two smash restaurants (Seasonal, uptown’s elegant tribute to Germanic flavors and downtown’s rustic Austrian tavern, Edi & the Wolf) and most recently, a cocktail bar called The Third Man. Edi may have been born in Austria, but he is every inch a New Yorker: frank, funny and totally unafraid to share his perspectives on great food, running restaurants and what life is like behind the line.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.

Transplanted from Dublin to New York almost a decade ago, Fiona Byrne has evolved from a mainstream print journalist from Us Weekly, The New York Times and New York Magazine into a modern day multi-media trend-spotter and tastemaker for all things downtown.

Currently, she’s editor-in-chief of the online fashion, lifestyle and culture destination, The Byrne Notice. We had a lot of fun chatting with Fiona about wearing scrubs, the constitution of a trend, the future of the glossy printed page and the best places to paint Manhattan’s skyline. Just when we thought it was a wrap, she shared some choice words for the boardroom suits running the “everyday deals” at Whole Foods. Consider yourself on notice, lads.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.

Travis is a musician first who started his micro-indie label in a little pink shack in Sayville, Long Island as a way to get the music he and his friends were making out there to the masses. Straight-talking and no bullshit, Travis raps with us about the crowds on Broadway, what it takes to make it in the music business, the state of rock in New York City and the names of bands he’s been a member of…DoubleDong, The Unsacred Hearts, The Homosexuals and DraculaZombieUSA just to name a few. Be sure to check out Travis’ episodes of Serious Business on BTR for live performances and often hilarious, anything-goes chats with the talented musicians making music from behind the doors of his Nolita recording studio.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.

Every New Yorker has a story to tell, but naturally some are more colorful than others. In our latest podcast, we sit down for a stunningly technicolor chat with local filmmaker and musician, Rayya Elias.

Addiction. Violence. Homelessness. Rock n’ Roll. All amidst the backdrop of a fog of burned-out buildings and graffiti that was Manhattan in the 1980’s. We found Rayya’s unique story totally riveting and trust us when we say that she’s bold and fearless because she’s literally been to the brink and back. About to be on tour with an amazing memoir, “Harley Loco: A Memoir of Hard Living, Hair and Post-Punk from the Middle East to the Lower East Side”, this self-professed art rocker, ex-junkie, glamour butch lesbian has got some serious shit to share with you and it’s a conversation you don’t want to miss. Don’t forget you can also download it from iTunes for free to listen on the go.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.

We recently sat down to shoot the breeze with New York City native son and current Executive Director of the International Center of Photography, Mark Robbins. Mark’s career as an artist and educator has been nothing short of extraordinary. He’s served as the first Curator of Architecture at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus (1993-1999), Director of Design for the National Endowment for the Arts (1999-2002) under both Clinton and Bush, and most recently Dean of the School of Architecture at Syracuse University. Mark Robbins is also author of the book “Households,” which uses photography to examine the ways in which people inhabit their environments. Unsurprisingly, we found Mark to be an insightful and erudite storyteller, able to conjure up incredible imagery of growing up with a post-Robert Moses Soho as his playground, illustrate why nostalgia sucks and go in deep on why the unexpected is a city’s greatest friend.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.

We earn our living selling New York City. The next day is never like the last. The last is never ordinary. We witness all sorts. We listen to the City’s noise. We devour its phenomenal food. On the Real is our
documentary. It is your pack of unfiltered New York 100s.